Pronunciation

How to pronounce “plethora

“plethora” is pronounced /ˈplɛθɚə/ (PLE-thuh-uh) in American English and /plɛθəɹə/ in British English, and /pləˈθɔɹə/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “plet”.
The sound

Say “plethora” in 3 beats

Say it like this

plethora

/ˈplɛθɚə/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /plɛθəɹə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. pletplɛstress
  2. horθɚ
  3. aə
IPA (American)
/ˈplɛθɚə/
IPA (British)
/plɛθəɹə/
Also accepted
/pləˈθɔɹə/
Respelling
PLE-thuh-uh
Syllables
3 — PLET-hor-a
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PLET-hor-a. “plet” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈplɛθɚə/

British

/plɛθəɹə/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “plethora” means

  1. noun

    extreme excess

    an embarrassment of riches

Say it in a sentence

There is a plethora of courgettes again this August.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

plethora”, answered

How do you pronounce “plethora”?

“plethora” is pronounced /ˈplɛθɚə/ (PLE-thuh-uh) in American English and /plɛθəɹə/ in British English, and /pləˈθɔɹə/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “plet”. Build it as PLET-hor-a, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “plethora” have?

3: plet · hor · a. The beat lands on the first, “plet”.

Is “plethora” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈplɛθɚə/ (PLE-thuh-uh); British English says /plɛθəɹə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “plethora” mean?

As a noun: extreme excess For example: “an embarrassment of riches”

Where is the stress in “plethora”?

Stress the first syllable: PLET-hor-a. “plet” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “plethora” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.